Monumental Sports:
NHL & NBA Facebook Chatbots

When Facebook showcased the future of Messenger Chatbots at F8, there was an uproar of excitement around opportunities for brands. However, with such a rapidly evolving and emerging platform the question quickly became, what is the best wayto deploy Chatbots?

Monumental Sports, the organization behind the Washington Wizards (NBA), Washington Capitals (NHL) and the Verizon Center in Washington D.C., wanted to leverage this new technology to connect with their younger, social media savvy fanbase.

We approached this project by asking, ‘what do these fans need most?’ and ‘what is the best way of delivering key information?’

Bots can quickly deliver an array of content and can perform a variety of functions from facilitating e-commerce to generating recipes based on user input. They are, however, best when used to perform a singular function. Wizards and Capitals fans demonstrated a desire for short order, easy to consume content — with a heavy focus on schedules, statistics, trivia, and ticket purchases.

With these insights, we built an information-driven Chatbot that delivered schedules, standings, and statistics, all with a unique, fun “personality” (which was quickly picked up by the Washington Post, Washington Business Journal, and more). Before launching, our team conducted on-site testing during pre-season games, and continuously trained the bot to expand its knowledge base.